Day 1 & 2: Upon arriving in Sri Lanka
transfer to central Colombo and the luxurious Cinnamon Grand
Hotel. Here you can enjoy a choice of fine dining at a selection
of Colombo’s finest restaurants, a brand new spa,
health club and swimming pool. Fully refreshed after a good
night’s sleep, you will be ready for a light training
session the following day at an Indoor Academy or a first-class
Colombo ground. Red Dot will be happy to supply net bowlers
if required. While the cricketers toil in the sun, non cricketers
can shop or lounge by the pool. In the evening of Day 2
have a welcome dinner at The Cricket Club Café.
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Accommodation Profile: Cinnamon
Grand's ambitious atrium design has always given it a sense
of grandeur lacking in other Colombo 5-stars. This is definitely
a hotel on the up. New owners have added a new wing, some
of the finest restaurants in the city, a lively sports bar
with Premier League football, Six Nations rugby and Test
cricket and an atmospheric poolside bar. It also adjoins
an upmarket shopping mall.
Day 3: Time for MATCH 1 against a Colombo
club side. Colombo remains the centre of Sri Lankan cricket
and all its first-class grounds love to play host to touring
sides whenever they can. After the match spend your third
night at Cinnamon Grand before heading tomorrow for the
cultural triangle. By now you should be in the mood to sample
some of the best restaurants, bars – and even the
odd nightclub – in this easily-explored city.
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Day 4: The journey to the cultural triangle
can be a drag – England once wound up Kevin Pietersen
that they had missed the turning for the non-existent motorway
– but besides the outstanding cricket this area has
a great deal to offer. The heart of the cultural triangle,
this is a great place from which to explore some of Sri
Lanka’s ancient sites and discover some of the island’s
rich heritage. We suggest that after checking into Kandalama
Hotel, and recovering with a leisurely lunch, you climb
the Lion Rock of Mount Sigiriya, but a more learned tour
party may refer to take a look at the ruined city of Polonnuruwa,
and cram in Sigiriya at dawn the following day. Alternatively
you may take the opportunity to take a hot air balloon or
elephant ride.
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Day 5: Kandalama is a hotel normally favoured
by the England cricket side for their games in Dambulla
and you are treading in their footsteps. Take on a Dambulla
Cricket Authority Invitation XI at the nearby Rangiri Dambulla
International Stadium in MATCH 2. England were skittled
for 88 here by Sri Lanka in 2003 but the square has bedded
in since then! The venue has superb facilities, a monstrous
scoreboard and a large stand for Pete & Sophie, your
loyal supporters. After the match at Dambulla drive the
2 ½ hours to Victoria Golf and Country Club, Kandy.
Accommodation Profile: Mean,
moody and magnificent – Kandalama symbolizes the best
in Sri Lankan ecological design. It snakes along a rocky
outcrop, in a light tropical jungle, overlooked by Kandalama
reservoir and the Knuckles hills. Slightly formal, richly
elegant. Well placed for Dambulla cricket stadium and all
the cultural triangle attractions. You don’t have
much time to cram them in, though – there is so much
to see.
Day 6: You will have arrived at Victoria
golf club in the dark on the previous evening, weary and
ready for a good night’s sleep. Awake then to an uplifting
sight. You are staying on the edge of the Knuckles mountain
range at one of the world’s most picturesque golf
courses. This must be one of Sri Lanka’s best-kept
secrets. Spend the day here before moving down to Kandy
for your next match the following day and – we recommend
– staying the night in Kandy. The hassle of changing
hotels is offset by reduced transport times.
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Accommodation Profile: These
golfing chalets are located amidst the central highlands
in the beautiful Victoria Golf and Country Club, one Asia’s
most beautiful golf courses in the world. The one-bedroom
chalets, all owned and managed by the Victoria Golf and
Country Club, are positioned on the edge of the golf course,
close to the tennis court and swimming pool, with only the
putting green separating it from the club house. The accommodation
is perfect for the golf enthusiast, but the tranquil location
is so beautiful that even non-golfing travelling partners
will enjoy their stay.
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Day 7: Play MATCH 3 at the Asgiriya International
Stadium, Kandy. Another of Sri Lanka’s international
arenas. Although the ground is a little basic it is a beautiful
cricket venue. Asgiriya is the only Test match ground that
is owned by a school, Trinity College, and we would hope
to arrange a fixture against an Old Trinitians XI. They
are a delightful and hospitable club and will drag you to
their club bar for beers after the game. Then check in for
a night at Earls
Accommodation Profile: The
Earls Regency, lying alongside the broad Maheweli River,
offers modern and spacious four-star comfort on Kandy’s
outskirts. This well-appointed hotel strives for a sense
of grandeur but some find it lacking in atmosphere. The
most conveniently-situated hotel for Victoria golf club.
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Option:
If you hanker after reducing your number of hotels you could
compromise on days 5-7 with three nights at Earls Regency,
the Kandy hotel most convenient for the golf at Victoria
Day 8: Early on Day 8 jump on the train
at Kandy to head high into the tea country. Your luggage will
be taken separately by the coach and you can sit back, relax
and enjoy one of the world’s most spectacular train
journeys as you wind slowly up the mountain passes. Arrive
for late lunch at the Tea Factory.
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Accommodation Profile: The
Tea Factory lies, alone and unique, on the slopes of the tea
plantations at Kandapola, high above the hill-country town
of Nuwara Eliya. the largest and most popular town in the
highlands. It was once exactly as it claims - a tea factory
built in the 1930s by British planters. The gentle howl of
the night-time breezes is likely to lull the most troubled
mind to sleep. There is no more luxurious way to explore Sri
Lanka's history of tea making. It was built in the 1930s by
British planters and it is still possible to pluck your own
tea from the nearby Heathersett Estate and process it at the
hotel's own miniature tea factory. The Tea Factory has been
lovingly and tastefully restored: reception was once the drier
room, the sifting and packing rooms now house a highly-recommended
restaurant and bar. In a nostalgic recreation of the years
of steam travel -- a narrow gauge railway ran along these
slopes until 1940 -- the Tea Factory's fine-dining restaurant
is a restored railway carraige, where you can enjoy a five-course
meal with an infusion of Western and Eastern influences without
any risk of soot in your eye. There are two bars, tv and games
room with pool tables and snooker, sauna and small gym.
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Day 9: Today will be MATCH 4 – and
what a unique venue. The game will take place on just about
the only flat bit of land in the region - Radella Cricket
Club. It was was built by the British plantation fraternity
in the middle of a tea estate. Founded in 1894, the club is
full of memories of the past, including memorabilia from early
MCC and international touring team. The pitch can vary in
quality but the breathtaking setting with the ground set in
a tiny valley surrounded by steep tea slopes more than makes
up for this. Return to the Tea Factory for a second and final
night.
Day 10 & 11: An early morning and departure
to Yala Game Park. There is potential for an afternoon game
drive, otherwise relax by the pool and save it for the following
morning. Elephants and leopard are frequently spotted here,
as well as a whole host of other wildlife.
Note: Should you wish to reduce
your tour by one night at this point – and cut the driving
– opt for the nearer Uda Walawe game park, where elephants
abound. The one-night’s accommodation at Centuaria Hotel
will be of 2-star quality, but you will save about four hours
travelling and can clip a day off your itinerary.
Accommodation Profile: Yala Village
Hotel blends subtly into scrub forest, close to Yala game
park. The park provides the best leopard sanctuary in Asia.
Two bird sanctuaries, Bundala and the Kelametiya wetlands,
are also within easy reach. Well-appointed a/c chalets enjoy
a scenic location, stretching from a lagoon to a deserted
beach of sand dunes and giant boulders. Animals may wander
through the village unhindered as the management pursues a
policy of existing in harmony with nature. There is a large
swimming pool and rustic dining room, with relaxing rural
views.
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Day 12, 13 & 14: After two nights in
Yala, drive along the stunning coast road to the Galle coastal
region. There is a vast choice of accommodation on offer in
this region, whether you want to stay in the Galle Fort, a
world heritage site, or on the tropical beach is up to you.
Day 13 is MATCH 5, this time at the iconic Galle Stadium.
The stadium has the Indian Ocean on two sides and was badly
damaged by the tsunami, only to be rebuilt after the affection
of the world’s cricketing publ;ic became clear. The
rest of the time on the coast can be spent having aching limbs
massaged, exploring the UNESCO protected Galle Fort, trying
your hand at some water sports or simply soaking up the sun.
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Accommodation Profile: The Heritance
stands alone on a prized expanse of sandy beach at Ahungalla,
midway between Bentota and Hikkaduwa, on Sri Lanka's west
coast. It set new standards in Sri Lanka by becoming the first
five-star hotel outside Colombo. More than 20 years on, its
values remain high. This is a confident, expansive hotel with
good rooms and capable of handling the demands of a tour party
with ease.
Day 15: After your rest on the beach you
will be firing on all cylinders. On your return to Colombo,
you can stop off for an optional MATCH 6 – a Twenty
20 match at Seenigama. The Foundation of Goodness charity,
championed by Muttiah Muralitharan, has rebuilt a village
wiped out by the 2004 tsunami. At the centre of this community
is a charming cricket pitch, financially supported among others
by Suyrrey and the MCC. We would encourage you to visit. Travel
onto Colombo – the end of the tour is nigh. Don’t
forget the last-minute shopping.
Day 16: You could leave early morning on
Day 16, or you could stay longer for a final match in Colombo
– choices, choices. If you stay on, you could meet a
Red Dot Invitation X1 at one of Colombo’s premier grounds
in MATCH 7. Or perhaps just spend your last day in Sri Lanka
by the pool or bargain hunting in the numerous shopping plazas.
Red Dot would suggest that for the cricketers this would be
a good opportunity to buy good value cricket kit for the season
ahead. A Red Dot consultant would be happy to point you in
the direction of one of the suppliers we personally use. If
you have any energy left, consider a tour dinner and prize-giving.
Day 17: Head for the airport for your return
flight home. |
Tour
explores the varied delights of Sri Lanka to the full, with
plenty of cricket along the way. It ticks all the boxes
– wildlife, culture, beaches and, of course, world
class cricket venues. It could easily expand into a leisurely
thrtee-week trip, with more time at the end of the tour
on the west coast beaches and Colombo. Those of you limited
to a fortnight could chip a couple of days from the schedule
and still see most of the island, but it will be a demanding
itinerary, with quite a lot of driving, and you must plan
your reductions carefully with the help of your Red Dot
consultant. Alternatively, consider our other sample tours.
